Pushups, Pasta, & Pinot Grigio

Morning friends, and happy hump day! How’s everyone’s week going? This one is shaping up to be a pretty busy one over here. Last night AJ and I had an impromptu dinner date at one of our favorite spots, Rubirosa in Little Italy. I’m still so full.

We also picked up two new ornaments for our Christmas tree 🙂

Tonight should be pretty low-key, but on Thursday I have my office holiday party, Friday night is a gift exchange with friends, and then my cousin is coming to visit this weekend. So many good things coming up, but definitely busy!

So, if you saw my Sunday post about Christmas Brunch, then you’ll know I promised you two recipes today and I’m so excited to share these with you.

Holiday Spiced Mulled Wine

• 1 (750mL) bottle red wine
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 5 whole cloves
• 3 star anise
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 orange, sliced

Pour wine in crockpot. Slowly stir in honey, then add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes: I used Merlot, but the original recipe also recommends using a Cabernet. Also, I figured the star anise would be somewhat difficult to find in a normal grocery store, so I ordered some from Amazon ahead of time.

original source

French Toast Casserole with Praline Topping

French Toast Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French bread
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Dash of salt
• Praline Topping (see below)
• Maple Syrup

Praline Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Slice bread into about 20 1-inch slices and arrange in a buttered 9×13-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl add the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix until well combined.

Pour mixture over bread slices, evenly coating. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Before baking, spread the Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve with maple syrup.

original source

Hope you all have a great day out there!